1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a miter gauge for retaining and adjustably positioning a workpiece to be cut by a table saw or the like.
2. Background Art
Miter gauges are produced in a variety of different types and configurations. These gauges are commonly used for positioning a wooden workpiece to be cut at a user selected angle by a table saw. Miter gauges usually include a fence for abutting the workpiece. They commonly include a semicircular gauge for angular adjustment to a base member which slidingly cooperates within a slotted recess in the saw table top.
Conventional miter gauges generally do not include a stop for retaining the workpiece. Retaining a workpiece to be cut by a saw tends to be time consuming to set up and tedious for multiple cutting operations. The stop is frequently unnecessary if the user can easily hold the workpiece against the fence of the miter gauge during the sawing operation. However, not all workpiece styles are easy to hold against the miter gauge fence while cutting. A primary example, crown molding, is difficult to hold while cutting. Crown molding is ornamental by design and is typically used for decoration within corners, commonly requiring the molding to be cut at a miter angle. A crown molding section is primarily angular, but has perpendicular surfaces for abutting within the corner. These surfaces are small in comparison to the molding body and are difficult to hold against both the miter gauge fence and saw table at the correct angle. When the piece of crown molding is held abutting the fence, the user is forced to hold the molding along its ornamental side.
Provisions have been made in the past to eliminate the need for the user to hold the workpiece during cutting operations. U.S. Pat. No. 778,642, issued to R. Dunne, discloses a method for clamping a workpiece while applying miter cuts. However, this method requires loosening a nut, positioning a stop and retightening the nut in order to make a single cut. The time required to set-up the clamp may not justify the ease provided while cutting the workpiece.
Another invention for clamping the workpiece while cutting is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,668, issued to Vermont American Corporation. With this design, the user is required to adjust a vertical screw pad for the height of the workpiece, loosen a wing nut, position a moveable jaw, and retighten the wing nut in order to make a single cut. Although this design clamps the workpiece in both horizontal and vertical directions, this design is time consuming to set up also.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,399, issued to William D. Scott et al., discloses an invention for clamping a workpiece to be cut by a saw by use of registration blocks pivotally mounted to trap the lower edge of the workpiece. This design requires loosening of a nut, positioning a slide block, and retightening of the nut for a single cutting operation. This design prevents the user from holding the workpiece while cutting, but does not provide any means for quick adjustment.
Various techniques and designs have provided miter gauges and/or clamps for positioning a workpiece to be cut by a saw. Although these designs may eliminate the need for the user to hold the workpiece against the fence while making the cut, it may not outweigh the time and efforts required for adjusting the clamp. Further, the workpiece does not need to be clamped; rather, all that is required is that the workpiece be retained during the cutting operation. Accordingly, it is the goal of the present invention to provide a simple low cost miter gauge with a quick-adjusting stop for retaining the workpiece at a selected angle to be cut by a saw.